Chicago Bulls: AK strikes gold with Lauri Markkanen-Cavs trade

A big trade went down heading into the weekend for the Chicago Bulls to finally start getting some moves made to solidify the roster ahead of the start of Training Camp and the preseason. Executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas and general manager Marc Eversley dished out restricted free agent and fourth-year power forward Lauri Markkanen to the Cleveland Cavaliers in a trade in the late morning of Aug. 27.

This was a three-team sign-and-trade deal that sent Lauri to Cleveland, forward Larry Nance Jr. to the Portland Trail Blazers, and a host of assets back to the Bulls. What the Bulls received was two draft picks and small forward Derrick Jones Jr. from the Trail Blazers.

More specifically, the Bulls got Jones Jr., a lottery protected future first-round draft pick from Portland, and a future second-round draft pick from Cleveland. It’s nice to see all of the draft capital coming back to the Bulls, instead of Karnisovas and Eversley shipping it out of Chicago.

Per ESPN NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski, the Cavs signed Markkanen to a four-year contract worth a total of around $67 million ($16.25 in average annual value) after this sign-and-trade deal.

Chicago Bulls get the desired deal for Lauri Markkanen, bringing in Derrick Jones Jr. from Portland

This has to be the deal the Bulls were looking for. There was apparent interest between Karnisovas and the Bulls, and Jones, for around the past calendar year. The Bulls had Jones as an option on the table in free agency last fall and at the trade deadline last season.

Jones is a body that can play at the three or the four, so that will help the overall depth for head coach Billy Donovan. And the Bulls desperately needed to add some future draft capital back after all that Karnisovas and Eversley shipped out in some of the bigger trade deals in the past six months.

The Bulls had shipped off three first-round draft picks, and a host of second-round draft picks, since the trade deadline to land the likes of point guard Lonzo Ball, star center Nikola Vucevic, and shooting guard/forward DeMar DeRozan.

Moreover, given the contract that the Cavs signed Markkanen down to, it is likely good that the Bulls found a deal for him. Markkanen also made it clear that he wanted a fresh start, and he’ll find that in Cleveland potentially.

What the Bulls are getting out of Jones is an athletic two-way forward that can also play a solid defensive role on the wing. Last season with the Blazers, Jones averaged 6.8 points per game, 3.5 rebounds, 0.8 assists, 0.6 steals, and 0.9 blocks. And he shot 48.4 percent from the field, 31.6 percent from beyond the arc, and 64.8 percent from the free-throw line.

Donovan and the Bulls do now have one more roster spot officially confirmed ahead of the start on Training Camp, which comes specifically on Sep. 28. Jones is a good addition for the Bulls, although this team will get to potentially face Markkanen in the preseason opener at home at the United Center on Oct. 5.